Kill or be Killed
by TaiTerToT19
Summary: The prestigious Delta Squad is thrown back into the action as a possible threat has been discovered. Meanwhile, a small party of surviving locust from the light mass bomb search for other members of the Hollow seeking revenge.
1. Triumph and Survival

Chapter 1 – Triumph and Survival

Marcus, Dom, Cole, and Baird were being recognized for their outstanding feat of destroying the enemy locust hollow. Cheers from all of the civilians and COG's of Teraz echoed through the great city. After Coronel Hoffman had given his speech detailing the detonation of the light mass bomb, the four members of Delta Squad shook hands and accepted thanks from the countless number of people.

"Finally, I'm getting what I deserve," Baird said, sitting down at a table with his squad mates.

"Hey, we all deserve this," Cole said, stretching back in his metal fold-up chair.

"I still can't believe that the damned thing actually worked!" Dom smiled, putting a hand on Marcus's shoulder.

"I know, I'm a little surprised we managed to kill that Locust General," Marcus let a hint of a smirk show.

"It's gonna be weird not having to fight as much anymore, with all the locust running scared," Baird also leaned back in his chair.

"You think we're done fighting?' Dom asked, almost amused, "We're probably gonna get shipped out to the front lines after this thing is over."

"Well then let's enjoy the time we've been given to relax," added Marcus, looking around at all the people mingling.

How could there be such an air of happiness when there was still fighting going on? Sure they had destroyed a Locust Hollow, but there could still be countless others out there. Marcus still had a gut feeling that the light mass bomb hadn't destroyed ALL of the locust in that stronghold. He tried to put it out of his mind and enjoy the feeling of triumph that they had accomplished.

After all, how many other people could go miles and miles to obtain specific targeting data, fight a Locust General and enter in the coordinates to a gigantic bomb, all the while fighting hundreds of locust along the way?

"Man I'm starving!" Cole let out, "let's go get some food. It's been too long since I've had a decent meal."

"I heard that!" Dom said, standing up, "Man I miss my mama's black olive chili, it was delicious!"

The four members of Delta Battalion went to the tables serving food.

* * *

2000 miles away and 300 feet under the surface of Sera, there was a stir of activity within the Locust Hollow the COG's had destroyed. A Theron Sentinel clawed his way out of the pile of rubble he was in. Shaken and disorientated, he fell forward to his knees after freeing himself. Cuts and bruises covered him from head to toe, and he was bleeding profusely from an injury to his shoulder. He placed a gnarled, huge hand over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as best he could.

He looked around at the destruction that encircled him. Everything they had worked so hard to obtain was gone, left in ruins from the humans' massive bomb. He let out a terrible roar, enraged by the condition his home was in. The Hollow had been destroyed.

"Curse the ones who have done this," he hissed, his voice was sharp and cold.

He had the strength to stand and did so, taking in more of his surroundings. The Theron was very tall, his arms thick with muscle. His armor was broken and shattered in many places, but his helmet, having a small slit for him to see through, remained intact. He took a few small steps forward, hoping he might find some other survivors from the attack.

He gave off a loud growl that echoed through the cavern. He walked for several paces before he heard a gasping voice. He found the source of the noise, a grenadier who had been thrown against a wall by the blast. He recognized the locust as Bredahk, a good comrade of his.

"It's good to see a fellow brother and a familiar one at that, Ra'zuc," Bredahk's voice was low and harsh, much harder than a boomer's. He also had a large scar across his chest, a graze with almost being chain-sawed in half.

"I couldn't agree more, brother," Ra'zuc gave his friend an arm up, "It seems fate has other plans for us."

"I suppose it was only lucky that our squad was sent this far on a recon mission. If we had been a couple miles closer to the Stronghold we wouldn't be here," Bredahk looked around the cavern just as Ra'zuc had, "are there any other survivors?"

"Not that I have found, but we should continue to search," his arm had stopped bleeding now.

"I did not think the humans had such a weapon," Bredahk had a look of disbelief and anger on is face.

"Nor did I," Ra'zuc just stared ahead. No emotion could be read from his expression.

"What should we do?" asked Bredahk.

"Search for others, we need to build up a squad again."

The two locust set out for the pumping station nearby, hoping to find more survivors along the way.

* * *

Marcus was in his bunk, trying to fall asleep. It had been a long time since any of them had been able to sleep in a real bed. Dom was tossing and turning in his sleep while Cole was snoring loudly. Marcus just lay there quietly, trying to rest his mind enough so he could get some rest.

Col. Hoffman's announcement today about the deployment of the light mass bomb was of little interest to him now. He was more concerned about what would happen to them now, after they had accomplished their mission. Would they be shipped off to somewhere else, having to fight off the remaining Locust? Would the team have to be split up? What was going to happen now? All these questions and more kept circling in Marcus's head.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," he mumbled to himself, turning over on his side. He watched the small fan they had in their room move back and forth, drifting into sleep.

* * *

The two locust had not found any others still alive. They began to grow anxious, hoping that there was at least one other still living amongst the wreckage. They scaled the rocky steps up to a pumping station which had been completely demolished by the explosion.

There were dead corpses of locust lying about them and even a few corpsers lie dead in the imulsion.

"Who goes there?" A Locust Sniper had appeared in front of them. He had a few scrapes on him but apart from that he looked unharmed.

"Two of your brothers who have also survived the blast," Ra'zuc answered, "and who are you?"

"I am Notakxm, but I usually go by Tax," the Sniper was cold and agile looking. He wore his goggles around his neck and a fingerless glove on his right hand.

"Now we have three," Bredahk said smiling, showing is unruly choppers, "I'm Bredahk, and this is Ra'zuc."

Tax acknowledged both of them, then looked down at Bredahk's chest, "that's a pretty looking scar you got. How did you come by that?"

"By almost being sawed in half," his answer was quick and sharp.

"And how did you manage to stop that from happening?" the sniper asked, sounding impressed.

"A comrade blew the human's head off with a shotgun, that's how."

Tax nodded, seeming to have gotten whatever he wanted out of the questions he had asked. They all did not say or do anything for a while, just studying each other silently. Finally the tension was broken by Bredahk.

"So should we continue to the surface?"

"Yes, we need guns first though," Ra'zuc said, looking around at the other two.

"I know where there's an ammo cache on the surface. If we leave now we can be there before light," Tax pointed out to his left at a small path concealed in the rock.

"Very well," Ra'zuc glanced around and saw a hammerburst on the ground, "Pick up whatever guns you find; there may be some COG's protecting that cache."

They set out for the surface, hoping to make it there before the sun came up. Ra'zuc seemed to have taken lead at the moment. With General RAAM dead he was the only one capable of leading now.

A/N: Well there's the first chapter. There's not a whole lot of action going on yet because I needed to introduce the characters and the beginning, but please R&R, I'd like to know how I could make it better and maybe get a few ideas for later on in the story.


	2. Combat is Never Forgotten

Chapter 2 – Combat is never forgotten

Marcus awoke to the sound whispers outside the room. He lay still, trying to listen in.

"We've only just got back!" It sounded like Dom, "We're being deployed to Yegash tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid so," Col. Hoffman sounded like the other voice, "We need this problem dealt with now and you're the only team that has the level of expertise needed to get the job done."

Dom let out a sigh, "The guys aren't gonna like this."

"Tell them in the morning soldier, let them sleep for now," there was a rustling out side the door, "Dismissed."

Marcus didn't move when Dom came back into the room. He knew that it would happen sooner or later. Dom climbed back into his bunk and pulled the covers over tight.

The next morning they were all eating in the mess hall getting ready for the day. Two of the men were in for a big surprise after they finished having breakfast. Dom would break the news that they were being deployed again soon. Marcus knew that it was coming and had already packed up his stuff. He didn't really mind that they were being thrown back into battle again, which surprised him. It was better than sitting in a cell all day with nothing to do. He had no life before he was pardoned to fight, and why should he expect to be let go. Sure he destroyed the Hollow, but was that enough to keep him from being thrown back in jail?

"Man I slept like a baby last night," Cole finished off his third waffle.

"Yea, that's been the best sleep I've gotten in a long time," Baird smiled taking a sip of water.

Dom and Marcus stayed silent, knowing what was to come. Then Dom stood up, opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and then opened it again, this time able to talk.

"Well I'm glad you guys liked it, because it looks like that's the last time we'll be getting good sleep for a while."

He paused, not sure of how to continue. Marcus stood up beside him.

"We're being deployed again, to Yegash," Marcus looked over at Dom who had a look of surprise on his face, "to accomplish some sort of mission that I don't know the details on."

Dom still looked confused, but soon regained his composure along with the ability to fill in the details, "To discover if a rumor that another Hollow has been found. Scouts have seen an alarming number of locust making their way into the outskirts, but they're not sure exactly where or why."

Baird had a look of disbelief on his face while Cole stood up in anger.

"This is bullshit!" Cole slammed his fist on the table, "We destroy a Locust Hollow, get 3 days for a break, and then we're off to destroy another?!"

"Easy Cole, sit down," Baird looked calmer than would be expected; "we knew this was going to happen sooner or later."

Cole sat, but his attitude didn't soften at all. Marcus looked around at all of them, feeling slightly anxious to get out to the frontline again. He didn't want to go right into combat, but he didn't want to go back to jail either. He looked up at the sky, noticing how much it had cleaned up since they had destroyed the Hollow. With their home gone, the seeders we no longer as much of a threat. Marcus still felt uneasy about this though.

* * *

The three locust had made it to the surface with no problem, and it was still dark enough where they could move quickly without being seen. They soon were at the weapons cache that Tax had described, but there were four COG's camping outside the entrance.

Ra'zuc, Bredahk, and Tax had all managed to find a weapon with suitable ammo on their way to the surface, but with the stores of ammo behind the COG's a direct attack would cost ammo and time. If they wanted to survive they would need to move quickly, which meant getting guns and then a vehicle. They were about 40 feet from the sleeping COG's when Ra'zuc stopped to go over a plan.

"Bredahk take the left flank and try to get adjacent with them as best you can. Tax you go straight in with me. Both of you wait on my signal."

The weapons cache was a small building situated in the corner of the street. If Bredahk could hold them on his side, there was no escape for the COG's. Ra'zuc and Tax carried hammerbursts while Bredahk carried a shotgun and managed to find himself a frag. Despite his large frame, the grenadier had no problem sneaking around the enemy camp and getting into position. Ra'zuc and Tax were also able to creep very close to the sleeping soldiers. One of the soldiers began to stir, and this was their only chance to take them out without a huge fight.

Ra'zuc gave the signal and Bredahk tossed his grenade into the center of the sleeping COG's. The one who had started to wake up had heard the ominous beeping of the frag.

"Guys! Frag! There's a Frag!"

The grenade exploded just as two of the men had woken up. It killed two soldiers and stunned a third. The one who had cried out had grabbed his gun and started shooting at where the grenade had been thrown from.

Ra'zuc and Tax came out from cover and almost simultaneously fired on the stunned guard. Before he knew it, the COG who had been trying to shoot Bredahk was gunned down in the leg and bleeding badly.

"Please, no! I'll do anything!" the soldier begged in terror, "Don't kill me!"

The large Sentinel grabbed the cowering soldier by the collar and lifted him off of the ground. He pulled out his knife and held it to the man's throat.

"Who are the ones responsible for destroying the Hollow?!" Ra'zuc began to press hard on the man's throat and blood began to drip down his neck.

"It was Delta Squad…they deployed the bomb…Please…"

Without a second thought Ra'zuc cut the man's throat and blood spurted everywhere. He let out a magnificent roar and bit into the dead man's flesh. He now knew who his target was. The other two joined in on devouring the man, ripping off limbs when finding a juicy piece. By the time they had finished there was almost nothing left of the soldier.

The three locust broke down the door to the cache and entered. They found a fair amount of guns and enough ammo to keep them fighting for days. They all grabbed at the weapons, relishing their reward. Ra'zuc found a torque bow in the corner with a full set of arrows to go with. He also grabbed a lancer and strapped the thing to his back. Bredahk found another shotgun and grabbed as many shells as he could carry. Tax found a longshot rifle but also grabbed a lancer for good measure. All three of them were able to carry a full pack of grenades, two frag, two smoke, and Ra'zuc found a boltok pistol in a box, fully stocked and ready to go.

Ra'zuc sniffed the air curiously. He knew the scent of human and it was fresh. They all stopped moving and waited, wondering what would happen next.

"An APC, 4 passengers, a turret man, and a driver," he listened intently to the soldiers who were just outside, "if we work this right we could have our transport."

"How long have they been dead?"

"Not long sir, the bodies are still warm."

"Scan the area, whatever killed them may still be here."

"Sir, look. There's a weapons cache over there."

"You two check it out."

"Shit!" Bredahk whispered harshly.

Ra'zuc grabbed an extra smoke and frag grenade, handing the frag to Bredahk on the other side of the door. They could all hear footsteps making their way closer. All three quieted their breathing. The two holding grenades readied them. The men outside were barely feet away. The first man placed his foot inside cautiously, hoping that the building was empty.

A/N: There's chapter two. I hope you all liked it. There was just a small taste of action for you, but there'll definitely be more and better fighting later on, I promise you. Please R&R, and thanks for reading.


End file.
